The present invention relates to compressors in general, and more particularly to a rotary vane-type compressor, especially for use in a motor vehicle.
There are already known various constructions of rotary compressors of the vane type. Usually, such a compressor includes vanes which are at least partially received in substantially radially oriented slots or recesses of the rotary body of the rotor of the compressor, the rotary body being mounted for joint rotation on a shaft which, in turn, is supported for rotation on a housing constituting at least a part of the stator of the compressor. The rotor and the stator or, more particularly, the rotary body and the housing, together define a compression space which is subdivided by the vanes into a plurality of individual and separate compartments some of which act as suction compartments while the others act as pressure compartments during the rotation of the rotor in any particular angular position of the rotary body. The medium to be compressed is admitted into the compartment which then acts as the suction compartment through an inlet port provided in the housing, while a discharge port is provided at a different region of the housing and is in communication with the respective pressure compartment for discharging the compressed medium therefrom.
In one particular construction of this type, the passage which connects the compression compartment, or a plurality of such compression compartments, as the case may be, with the discharge port is provided in the same part of the stator as the passage which communicates the inlet port with the suction compartment or suction compartment, this part also externally bounding the space accommodating the rotary body of the rotor. The need for supplying the medium to be compressed to the inlet passage and discharging the already compressed medium from the discharge passage requires the provision of housing portions which are relatively bulky or massive in order to safely overlap the respective passages or the inlet and outlet openings thereof and to prevent direct communication between the discharge and inlet ports through the interior of the housing past the rotary body. As a result of this, the compressor of this conventional construction has relatively huge radial dimensions. Of course, this results in a situation where the entire compressor is relatively voluminous and has a substantial mass or weight.